What is the PGC?

Info

The purpose of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC) is to conduct mega-analyses of genome-wide genetic data for psychiatric disorders. This website provides information about the organization, implementation, and results of the PGC.

The basic idea is that individual studies are too small to identify robust and replicable associations. Meta-analysis is a widely-used technique that can combine information across studies. We use “mega-analysis” because all of our analyses are based on individual genotype data.

The PGC began in early 2007, and quickly became a confederation of most investigators in the field. The PGC has 500+ investigators from 80+ institutions in 25 countries. There are 170,000+ subjects currently in analysis, and this number is growing rapidly. Thus, the PGC is the largest consortium and the largest biological experiment in the history of psychiatry.

The PGC is passionate about open, inclusive, participatory, and democratic science. Given the importance of the problems we study, we are committed to rapid progress

From 2007-11, the PGC focused on autism, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, and schizophrenia. We now include large studies of anorexia nervosa, drug use disorders, OCD/Tourette's, and PTSD. Initially, the PGC focused on common SNPs. Our focus has expanded to include copy number variation and uncommon/rare genetic variation.

The PGC has received funding from many sources. The PGC has relied heavily on the goodwill of its members and their donated effort. Establishing and genotyping the primary studies were funded by a wide range of national, international, and commercial funders.